Thread: School Shooting

May the good Lord be with you in this hard time.

What a terrible tragedy. I feel so bad for all of you!!
The TV interviewed our school superintendent who blabbered about recognizing and reaching out to these lonely and desperate kids. I almost choked on my apple. We see these types of kids ALL THE TIME and there is no help out there! We see these kids bullied all the time, but the system protects the bullies. I don't know what the schools can do anymore to prevent this type of mayhem.
But, I do firmly believe the families can do something -- get rid of the guns in their home. NOW! Come at me all you want NRA, but I lost a student to a shooting. He was accidentally killed by his brother. I will never be convinced there is any acceptable reason to have guns in the home.

I just saw this on the news. What a tragic waste. AND such an incredible number of people affected. So sad.

I will never be convinced there is any acceptable reason to have guns in the home.

I can think of one, and would never willingly live without them:

[url="http://www.ushmm.org/"]http://www.ushmm.org/[/url]

Incidentally, here's the root cause of the trouble:

school superintendent who blabbered about recognizing and reaching out to these lonely and desperate kids.

All talk, no action.

Originally Posted by JohnBoy

I can think of one, and would never willingly live without them:

[url="http://www.ushmm.org/"]http://www.ushmm.org/[/url]

touchee, JohnBoy.

Incidently, I believe you are a bachelor (many pardons if I'm mistaken). As a parent with small inquisitive minds scampering about ALL the time, I wouldn't dare have a firearm present in my home. The risk of one of my mischievous and curious boys accidentally discharging the gun (which is a hefty possibility) outweigh the risk (which I feel is ever so slight) of a repeat of the holocaust staged here in the states. I do appreciate the right to bear arms, but I choose not to exercise that right. Thank you for exercising that right and by default helping to protect me.

Incidently, I believe you are a bachelor (many pardons if I'm mistaken).

Nope, dead on. And I certainly don't begrudge anyone their choice to live without them. I agree that the risk of our having a totalitarian government is less than elsewhere, but my studies of history over the years tell me that 1. No government should ever have a monopoly on force and 2. No government lasts forever anyway- they usually wind up as some sort of monarchy or dictatorship. And depressingly, 3. Firearms are but 500 years old- people slaughtered each other long before they were invented with many sorts of implements. The march of history...sigh.
Anyway, if I had children, the only thing I would change is the ratio of loaded firearms to empty ones in the house and the location of the above. But I would also bring them up to have a context for use, a working knowledge of lore, if you will, and a thorough appreciation of the dangers of misused/ill-used firearms. I would also bring them up to have a great deal of clarity about the characteristics and concepts of good and evil. And like myself, they would have to prove themselves worthy to bear arms. (A novel concept- children have to earn their rights- I should thank my father right now.....)

Not to thread-jack fromthe original topic. I am so sorry for the community. I feel I need to say this, however:

I grew up in a house filled with guns. My dad was a collector, a black-powder hobbiest and owned a gun shop for a time. He hunted and entered target shooting competitions. He gave me a .22 for my 12th birthday. I still have it, though I've not fired it in years.

Together, we have perhaps a half dozen guns in the house. All unloaded, and locked down seperately from the ammunition, in a place no one else has access too, including the children who have never seen them. Yet.

I think, frankly, the way guns are made available to the US citizenry is wrong and scares me silly. I think there is something poisonous in your society that so many of you feel you HAVE to keep a loaded weapon with you. And I don't frankly buy the "right to bear arms" speech. That ammendment was written for single shot muzzle-loaders, not semi-automatic rifles and Uzis.

However. No amount of gun laws or controls are going to address the problems of this, Columbine, L'Ecole Polytechnique, Taber, San Ysidro, Dunblaine..... etc.....

I purposely mention similar incidents in other countries, because while the LAWS all differ, the human condition does not.

As JohnBoy says--All talk, no action. I couldn't agree more that THAT is the real problem....

Lisa

He gave me a .22 for my 12th birthday.

Hmm. I got a 12 guage for that one- it was the 1st of many.

I think, frankly, the way guns are made available to the US citizenry is wrong and scares me silly. I think there is something poisonous in your society that so many of you feel you HAVE to keep a loaded weapon with you. And I don't frankly buy the "right to bear arms" speech. That ammendment was written for single shot muzzle-loaders, not semi-automatic rifles and Uzis.

Nothing poisonous- merely prudence.

I'm so sorry. I'm praying for your community and you.